[mod. f. Gr. κρᾱνίον skull (CRANIO-) + -λογία: see -LOGY. In mod.F. craniologie.]
† 1. The study of the configuration of the skull as indicating the comparative development of the organs or faculties; now known as PHRENOLOGY.
1806. Med. Jrnl., XV. March, heading, An Account of Dr. Galls System of Craniology.
1843. Borrow, Bible in Spain, xl. (1872), 233. He had a villainously formed head according to all the rules of craniology.
2. The study of the size, shape and character of the skulls of various races, as a part of anthropology.
1851. D. Wilson, Preh. Ann. (1863), I. ix. 293. The craniology of the later tumuli.
1883. Tylor, in Nature, 3 May, 8. The mixture of races in Europe makes European craniology a study of extreme difficulty.